Throughout the world, goods are shipped via a wide variety of transportation methods in metal containers. Typically, the containers used are constructed of steel or aluminum and have dimensions that comply with standards set by the International Organization for Standardization (“ISO”). Standardization allows the containers to be handled by mechanical equipment, regardless of location or manufacturer of the container or equipment.
Standardization also allows the same container to be used on various forms of transportation. This is particularly advantageous because it allows the cargo to be transferred between transportation forms without a lengthy process of unloading and re-loading the container itself. For example, a loaded container may be off-loaded from a ship by an overhead crane and loaded directly onto a truck or rail car.
While most goods can be transported in standard-dimension containers, some cargo is simply too large to fit within a standard container. Also, it has not been efficient to construct oversized containers for these goods because such oversized containers would not meet the dimensional standards for shipping containers. Typically, therefore, oversized goods are individually loaded on flat-bed rolling stock for overland transportation or individually loaded and secured on cargo ships for sea transportation. In certain cases, flat-bed rail cars have been fitted with canopies to cover the cargo. An example of such a modified flat-bed rail car is shown in FIG. 1. This approach has proven undesirable, however, because the flat-bed cars so modified are not available for general use in providing railroad-transportation services when not being used for oversized cargo. Rather, once modified, the rail cars have limited application to oversized cargo.
The inability to use containers for oversized goods has disadvantages. Specifically, the goods must be individually loaded onto rolling stock at the point of manufacture and then unloaded and re-loaded at each point of transfer between transportation forms. For example, oversized goods loaded on a flat-bed rail car must be individually unloaded from the rail car and then individually loaded onto a cargo ship for sea transportation. Also, the inability to use a container may result in the goods being exposed to weather during transport or may require individualized protection, such as canopies or tarpaulins, to be used to protect the goods from the weather.
A need exists therefore for a shipping container that would accommodate oversized goods while still meeting critical dimensional standards for standardized containers.